Furious Nigel Farage erupts at Rishi Sunak over China after MoD cyber attack

By Katie Harris, Political Reporter

Nigel Farage shares his views on the Ministry of Defence hack

Nigel Farage blasted Rishi Sunak's government for not being "straight with us" about China after a large-scale cyber attack on the Ministry of Defence.

The former Ukip leader hit out at the Prime Minister for declining to name Beijing amid speculation it was behind the hack on a third-party payroll system which potentially compromised the bank details of service personnel and veterans.

Speaking on his GB News show, Mr Farage said: "Wow, I thought this is a really big story.

"But what did we get from the Government today? Repeated attempts to try and play it down.

"I have to tell you I have no idea what Rishi Sunak's position on China actually is, it seems to move around with the wind."

He pointed out that Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey addressed the possibility that China was responsible in the House of Commons today but Defence Secretary Grant Shapps would only say it was a "malign actor".

Mr Farage went on: "Well it was up John Healey, the Labour shadow defence secretary, and he did come out with it absolutely clearly.

"When you look at the way Grant Shapps and John Healey dealt with that is it any wonder that the Labour Party are now more trusted on defence than the Conservatives?

"Something historically that would have been very difficult to say at any point during my lifetime.

"Why can't this Government be straight with us about China?"

Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, Mr Shapps said that "state involvement" in the large-scale cyber attack cannot be ruled out.

Mr Sunak earlier declined to say who was behind the cyber attack but insisted the UK is taking the powers necessary "to protect ourselves against the risk that China and other countries pose to us".